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"We decided that we would paint a wolf on the flipper and Lambsy would hide the wolf until attacked. Once the battle commenced the Wolf in Sheep's clothing would be revealed."
— Ian Lockhart on the Lambsy website

Lambsy was a heavyweight robot that competed in Series 5 and Extreme Series 2 of Robot Wars. Lambsy fell in Round 2 of Series 5, but did better in Extreme 2, reaching the final of the Minor Meltdown.

Design[]

"So invertible, the flipper also acts as a lifting mechanism, there are spikes inside the flipper jaws to cause maximum damage, but there's a high ground clearance at the rear, and lambs to the slaughter, I fear!"
Jonathan Pearce describes Lambsy in Extreme 2
Lambsy

Official profile of Lambsy in Series 5

Lambsy was a low, long, invertible box-wedge shaped robot. It had a sheep on top of the robot which hid a picture of a wolf on the front, in reference to the Biblical idiom of the "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing". The sheep always fell off and was there in the hope that it would catch fire, and act as a plaything for the House Robots.

Lambsy was armed with a pair of jaws that clamped onto opponents, and the robot would use its pushing power to slam opponents into the pit, or side wall, as it did to Killer Carrot 2 in the Minor Meltdown. The jaws also acted as a lifter, that could hoist 100kg. It was powered by two 1000 psi pneumatic rams.

"We decided that the robot would be simple in design which would mean less to go wrong, and we would build it around the tried and tested electric wheelchair method often used by other roboteers. We also felt that if it worked upside down and had a flipper that worked upside down we would be able to attack in whatever position we found ourselves in. The finishing touch would be a sacrificial lamb for the House Robots to play with."
— Ian Lockhart on the Lambsy website[1]
Lambsy

Lambsy at the time of Extreme 2

The robot's electronics and motors came from an old electric wheelchair the team had bought, and the lifter was powered by an old fire extinguisher[2]. Originally, the frame was steel, but for Series 6, the team built a new frame for Lambsy out of aluminium, which was lighter, allowing for another weapon to be added inside the jaws[3]. For Series 6, the team added a 3000rpm disc with 12 cutting teeth inside the jaw and repainted the robot blue and silver, but for Extreme 2, the team added a retracting spear hidden inside its jaws and restored the old black design and the wolf. The Extreme 2 version was 5 kilograms lighter than the original, and had two 750 watt electric motors instead of a 24 volt motor like in Series 5. The robot was powered by 12 volt Yuasa 17A hour batteries, and had 4QD NCC-70 speed controllers, Delbot interface, Futaba G301 Gyro[4].

However, the robot had a very high ground clearance at the rear, 100mm, which opponents such as Bulldog Breed 3 and Bigger Brother exploited. The Series 5 version of Lambsy had spikes on the side to prevent the robot becoming stuck on its side, but these were not present on the Extreme 2 version, which caused its defeat.

Etymology[]

In keeping with the robot's "Wolf in sheep's clothing" theme, the robot was called Lambsy, despite its wolf theme. The team typically used the name "Lambsy" to refer to the sheep on the robot, rather than the robot itself.

For Series 6, the upgraded version of Lambsy was referred to by the team as Lambsy- Armed & Dangerous[5], but this name was not used when the robot appeared in Extreme 2.

The Team[]

Main article: Team Coyote
TeamCoyoteS5

Team Coyote with Lambsy in Series 5

Lambsy was the first robot to be entered into Robot Wars by the Northamptonshire-based Team Coyote. Lambsy was built by Ian Lockhart, who drove the robot, while his son Scott Lockhart was the captain of the team, and weapons operator[6]. Tony Tobbell was the third team member during Series 5, whilst Scott Lockhart's younger brother Daniel joined the team for the Minor Meltdown in the second series of Extreme.

Qualification[]

At the Series 5 qualifiers, Lambsy attended the Manchester leg of the tour[7]. Its first battle was against Cedric Slammer, which it won.

"We managed to stall the disc of Cedric the Slammer {sic} by catching it with our jaws and powering them shut. Then we flipped him over with our flipper, and Shunt shoved him in the pit."
— Lambsy website

Lambsy then fought The Stag. Lambsy's jaw was not working, and the battle ended in a draw. Lambsy was chosen to compete in the series over The Stag.

"Our flipper had taken some damage in the earlier fight and we did not have enough time to repair it. Our lamb had taken some damage too, with an axe by Shunt and some burning on the flame pit. ... It was a tense affair with a lot at stake. We pushed each other around the arena, but without our flipper it was going to be tough. We battled on and nearly managed to get Stag into the pit after carrying him around on our back for a short while. But all to no avail. Cease was called and without any judges in attendance, Craig called on the crowd for some help. After lots of singing and chanting by the crowd Craig declared it a draw. --- The Stag team afterwards said that they felt we had won ... Nice chaps!!!."
— Lambsy website
Lambsy disc jawsshut

Lambsy before Series 6, with a disc sticking out of the top of the wedge

Lambsy was modified for Series 6, adding a disc inside the jaws and the gears were altered to increased the top speed to 14 mph compared to 8mph. However failed to qualify after losing its qualifier to Raging Reality[8].

"We had a four way battle with Raging Reality, Reactor 3, and another robot. Raging Reality immobilised one bot, we immobilised Reactor 3, and the last three minutes was spent slugging it out with Raging Reality. We lost on a judges decision even though we were the only robot out of the four who could drive out of the arena. No hard feelings though, they flipped us a bit more than we did to them."
— Ian Lockhart on the Series 6 qualifiers

After failing to qualify for Series 6, the team decided to build a new robot, as they felt Lambsy was not aggressive enough. This robot would be Ewe 2, which fought in Series 7. It was originally intended to enter Extreme 2 in the Minor Meltdown, but it was not finished in time, so Lambsy was brought out of retirement to compete, where it finished as runner up.

Robot History[]

Series 5[]

"We arrived very nervous and excited at the TV studios. All of the Robot Wars staff and Roboteers soon made us feel comfortable. We shared benches with our favourite robots like Hypnodisc and Atomic."
— Lambsy website[9]

Lambsy's first battle was against Wowot, the latest in the line of creations from experienced roboteer Adam Clark.

Lambsy vs Wowot

The sheep is removed from Lambsy

Both machines moved out of their starting positions, with Wowot making the first move as it caught Lambsy broadside on. Wowot pushed down with its claw, and after both machines wrestled with each other, Wowot knocked the stuffed lamb off of Lambsy. With Lambsy suddenly showing no signs of movement, Wowot moved in behind and pushed it. Meanwhile, Shunt had taken the mascot that had fallen from Lambsy and used it for his own enjoyment, axing into it and leaving it to burn over a flame jet.

"And there we have it - roast lamb for you!"
— Jonathan Pearce as Shunt's burns Lambsy's mascot
Wowot vs Lambsy

Lambsy is clamped by Wowot

The two competing machines then separated, with Lambsy trying to respond by sliding under the front of Wowot, although it managed to reverse away. Once again, Wowot positioned itself behind Lambsy, but after Wowot had forced it into Sir Killalot's CPZ, the clamped Lambsy responded by arcing Wowot backwards and onto the lip of the CPZ. Both machines remained in their position as Sir Killalot tried to pick up Wowot, while Lambsy was forced to feel the forced behind Shunt's axe. On a second attack, Sir Killalot succeeding in picking up Wowot, and dealt it terminal damage in the process by crumpling its rear armour. Wowot was then dropped onto its back and eventually on its wheels, but was unable to show any movement, and was counted out by Refbot.

Lambsy mascot fire

Lambsy's mascot is torched

"We thought it would be lambs to the slaughter, but somehow, Ian Lockhart shepherded his machine away from trouble, and left Wowot to be gobbled up by our House Robot wolves!"
— Jonathan Pearce
Wowotlambsy

Sir Killalot picks up Wowot

A final dance of death was played out for Wowot, as Sir Killalot spun around with the beaten machine held aloft, before it was thrown by the Floor Flipper. With its path through to the next round sealed, Lambsy attempted to rescue its charbroiled mascot, but only succeeded in getting part of its fiery remnant stuck on its own jaw. Sir Killalot continued to carry out further damage on Wowot as it threw it across the arena floor, before it finally put Adam Clark's machine out of its misery by pitting it.

Craig Charles: "I must admit, I thought, you were going to get a right good kicking, but your tactics were brilliant! You pushed this Wowot character into the CPZ, into the arms of Killalot, and it was all over then! Was that what you were thinking about doing from the start?"
Scott Lockhart: "Well, not really, but when we got near Sir Killalot, we thought that was the end of us, but it turned out the other way!"
Craig Charles: "Turned out the other way, didn’t it? It all went well! You happy?"
Ian Lockhart: "We were lucky I think, he had us caught … He had us over his body and clamped down, so our wheels weren’t on the ground for a lot of the time, and if he’d managed to do what we did to him, shove us the Corner Patrol Zone, we’d have been finished!"
— Post-battle interview

In the second round, Lambsy was up against another very experienced team in Bulldog Breed 3.

"Dogs, teeth, wolves, howling, bleating, it's all going to go off when these two teams go into the arena!"
— Philippa Forrester before the battle
Bulldoglambsy

Lambsy is flipped by Bulldog Breed

Lambsy Bulldog Breed 3

Bulldog Breed, atop of Lambsy

After activate was called, Lambsy immediately went towards and hit the Pit release, but was thrown over by Bulldog Breed 3 as it moved away. In this attack, Lambsy lost its mascot again, with the overturned sheep revealing its message of "I'LL BE Baa...ck!".

"I don't know whether they were going to try to put bulldog into its kennel early, but they were flipped."
— Jonathan Pearce on Lambsy's early activation of the Pit

Bulldog Breed 3 then drove up Lambsy's wedge, but Lambsy was unable to take advantage because its weapon wasn't working. Bulldog Breed 3 eventually came back down onto the arena floor, and responded with another strong flip that sent Lambsy twirling through the air.

"No, Bulldog, you can't use your flipper when you're on top - you need to lead Lambsy to the slaughter."
— Jonathan Pearce before Bulldog Breed 3 throws Lambsy over once more
Lambsy Bulldog Breed 3 1

Bulldog Breed 3 clamps down on Lambsy

Lambsy Bulldog Breed 3 Shunt

Lambsy is punched by the axe of Shunt

After turning Lambsy over and onto the Flame Pit, Bulldog Breed 3 shot up and over the top of Lambsy on a drive. Bulldog Breed 3 then failed to turn Lambsy over with any of its next three flips, although it managed to still make use of its weapon, as it used its raised state to hold Lambsy in place and drive it across the arena floor. Lambsy was then attacked by both Shunt and Sir Killalot, and although it sustained damage, Lambsy was still able to function, and trundled back towards its opponent with time ticking down. Bulldog Breed 3 carried out one final flip before cease, and the battle was sent to the Judges - they went in favour of Bulldog Breed 3.

"Well, the Judges have made a decision, looking at Style, Control, Damage and Aggression, and the wolf in sheep's clothing turns out to be mutton dressed as lamb! They've gone for Bulldog Breed!"
— Craig Charles announces the decision

Lambsy was therefore eliminated from the Fifth Wars.

"We expected to get beaten and were right. However we were a little disappointed as we had a problem with our air supply and so our weapon did not work. This left us like sitting ducks. We did manage to last the full five minutes, but the judge's decision was a formality. During the battle we were tossed into the air about 7 times, and came crashing down but the robot stood up to it and was able to carry on. Later in the fight one of our drives came a little loose with all of the crashing which meant we could only turn on one wheel. … A great experience, and I am sure we could have won the second fight if our weapon had been working. We believe that we forgot to tighten the gas bottle up, so that it all the gas leaked out."
— Ian Lockhart on the Lambsy website

Extreme 2[]

Philippa Forrester: "Scott, have you had much practice?"
Scott Lockhart: "Quite a lot."
Philippa Forrester: "Have you?"
Scott Lockhart: "Yeah."
Philippa Forrester: "That's very good!"
— Pre-battle interview

Lambsy appeared in the Minor Meltdown of Extreme 2, where Scott Lockhart drove the robot and Daniel Lockhart controlled the weapons. It was drawn against Bigger Brother and Team A-Kill's new robot Saw Point in the eliminator.

Philippa Forrester: "Now Scott, who are you most worried about?"
Scott Lockhart: "Bigger Brother."
Philippa Forrester: "Right, but you can run both ways up, can't you?"
Scott Lockhart: "Yeah, but he can get us out of the Arena!"
Philippa Forrester: "That's very true actually! You see - logic - that's what you need on this programme. And some people have been lacking for some time!"
— Pre-battle interview
LambsyBitesSawPointWheel

Lambsy tries to clamp onto one of Saw Point's wheels

Lambsy started by charging at the side of Saw Point, and as it hit the side, the sheep fell off from the top of Lambsy. Lambsy attempted to clamp onto on of Saw Point's back wheels, but Saw Point was able to turn before Lambsy could get the wheel in its jaws. Lambsy quickly got to the other side, getting the other rear wheel in the jaws, but Lambsy did no damage and let go. Saw Point drove away, with Bigger Brother pursuing it and trying to flip it. Saw Point reversed, straight into Lambsy. Lambsy got its jaws under one of Saw Point's rear wheels, but couldn't get a hold due to the size of the wheel, so Lambsy reversed.

"Now, what's going to happen as Lambsy tried to get the jaws, Wolf-like jaws, to work on Saw Point?"
— Jonathan Pearce as Lambsy tries to grip the wheel of Saw Point
BiggerBrotherFlipsLambsyOverDamagedWheel

Bigger Brother flips Lambsy over. Note Lambsy's damaged tyre

Bigger Brother got at the side of Saw Point, pushing it across the arena and flipping it over. Lambsy came across the arena to attack the overturned Saw Point, but Bigger Brother pushed Saw Point against Lambsy, pushing the two of them together. Lambsy backed off as Bigger Brother pushed Saw Point into Growler's CPZ. Whilst Growler attacked Saw Point, Bigger Brother rammed Lambsy against the arena side wall. Lambsy escaped, speeding across the arena away from Bigger Brother, but Bigger Brother chased after it.

"Two machines survive this Round 1 phase to fight again, and I don't think it'll be Saw Point, they're being counted out by the Refbot. It now means damage limitation for Bigger Brother and Lambsy, they will go through to the next stage of Minor Meltdown, they've realised that now, I think they'll cease hostilities..."
— Jonathan Pearce as Refbot counts out Saw Point
Bigger Brother vs Lambsy vs Saw Point

Despite qualifying, Lambsy is pitted by Bigger Brother

Bigger Brother caught up with Lambsy, pushing it against the wall and flipping it over. One of Lambsy's tyres came loose after these attacks, having been torn. As Saw Point was counted out, Bigger Brother continued to chase Lambsy around, before getting under the side of Lambsy and pushing it into the pit, though Lambsy was still through as Saw Point had been counted out.

"Bigger Brother dumps Lambsy into the sheep pen, Lambsy will live to fight again."
— Jonathan Pearce as Bigger Brother pits Lambsy

Meanwhile, Killalot threw Saw Point around the Arena, and it was placed on the Drop Zone, where it had a refrigerator and an array of car parts dropped on it. Killalot then dropped Saw Point out of the arena while Growler pushed the refrigerator from the Drop Zone into the pit on top of Lambsy. Lambsy lifted the refrigerator up and down.

In the second round, Lambsy was against Killer Carrot 2.

Philippa Forrester: "Okay, the Lambsy team, last time we saw Lambsy, you were underneath a washing machine! Now, how do you feel about the Killer Carrot?"
Scott Lockhart: "Uh, not too bad actually. I think if we open the jaws and got the spike in their flipper, I think it could maybe … immobilise their flipper, probably. I think so."
— Pre-battle interview
Lambsy vs Killer Carrot 2

Lambsy balances on Killer Carrot 2

Killer Carrot 2 charged at Lambsy, but Lambsy dodged by driving past it. The two robots turned around, and Lambsy drove straight at Killer Carrot 2, but drove straight onto its lifter, so Killer Carrot 2 lifted Lambsy up onto its top, causing the sheep to fall off yet again.

"There's no room for woolly minds out there, I can tell you!"
— Jonathan Pearce as the head falls off
Lambsy and killer carrot 2

Lambsy pushes Killer Carrot 2 into the CPZ

Lambsy was stuck on its side on top of Killer Carrot 2, but when Killer Carrot 2 drove forwards, Lambsy fell off. Killer Carrot 2 turned around, but drove straight into Lambsy's sheep mascot. Killer Carrot 2 reversed and tried to drive around it, but drove onto it. After a pause, Killer Carrot 2 tried to push past the sheep mascot, but Lambsy rammed into the side of Killer Carrot 2, lifting it onto the sheep mascot. Killer Carrot 2 spun around and got off the sheep; once freed, the orange machine turned around and got its own lifter under Lambsy as it drove past, flicking Lambsy up a little.

"Lambsy's graze on grass, surely, not root vegetables!"
— Jonathan Pearce
KillerCarrotLosesaWheel

One of Killer Carrot 2's wheels falls off

Lambsy reversed, and then charged at Killer Carrot 2, getting its jaw under Killer Carrot 2 and pushing it up the arena, straight into the arena wall, and into the CPZ. However, as Mr. Psycho came over, it hammered Lambsy instead of Killer Carrot 2. Killer Carrot 2 pushed back against Lambsy, getting away from the wall, and Lambsy turned away. Lambsy drove down the arena, trying to keep away for Killer Carrot 2. Killer Carrot 2 drove at Lambsy, driving onto the jaw, but managed to turn off as Lambsy tried to lift it. Killer Carrot 2 reversed into Lambsy, trying to push it, but suddenly one of its wheels became dislodged and rolled away. Killer Carrot 2 was now left spinning around on the spot, and Lambsy drove down the arena to open the pit.

"...and I think Lambsy, so far in the Minor Meltdown, have been good value. Killer Carrot, fancied to get to the final though, they'll progress no further."
— Jonathan Pearce as Refbot counts out Killer Carrot 2

Killer Carrot 2 was attacked by the House Robots, before being counted out by Refbot. Dead Metal sliced into the rear of Killer Carrot 2 and put it on the floor flipper, but it drove off at the last minute and was still flipped. It was finally pitted by Dead Metal.

Craig Charles: "Do you think you can go all the way?"
Scott Lockhart: "No, because we might have Bigger Brother!"
Craig Charles: "Be confident, be confident! Work out your tactics, and I'm sure you can do them!"
— Post-battle interview

In the Final, Lambsy fought Bigger Brother again, in what proved to be a very quick battle.

Jonathan Pearce: "I think Lambsy are a little bit lucky to get this far, I've gotta go Bigger Brother. I think Joe's going to be a really good roboteer when he gets older."
Philippa Forrester: "Lambsy have fought fantastically, and we saw that fantastic image of the washing machine in the pit going up and down, because Lambsy were still there underneath fighting, and I loved that, but I think Bigger Brother as well."
— Jonathan Pearce and Philippa Forrester's predictions for the final
Bigger brother vs lambsy

Lambsy is stranded on its side

At the start of the battle, the two robots circled around each other, and as they got close, Bigger Brother got at the side of Lambsy, but Lambsy got away before it could flip.

"They fought right at the start of this Minor Meltdown, perhaps they were feeling each other out, perhaps they sensed they were the best machines."
— Jonathan Pearce in the early moments of the battle
Bigger brother pits lambsy

Bigger Brother reverses Lambsy down the pit

Lambsy drove away and turned around, but as Bigger Brother chased after it, Lambsy turned away. This proved to be a fatal mistake, as it exposed its high rear ground clearance to Bigger Brother. Bigger Brother got under the corner of Lambsy and flipped it onto its side, from which it could not self right as the jaws were stuck open. After activating the pit, Bigger Brother reversed into Lambsy, pushing it into the pit.

"Lambsy, the only position Bigger Brother could have put Lambsy in to stop it immediately was on its side, they've done it! That is very good driving by Joe Watts, and Lambsy are beaten by the outstanding Minor Meltdown team!"
— Jonathan Pearce as Bigger Brother pits Lambsy

The battle took just twenty-four seconds, and Lambsy was resigned to second place in the Minor Meltdown.

Craig Charles: "Lambsy, Lambsy. All over in less than a minute! It felt like you were incapacitated after about twelve seconds! What happened?"
Scott Lockhart: "Well, Bigger Brother flipped us, we had our flipper open, hoping to charge at them, but as the flipper was opened, it would roll onto its side, and we couldn't actually self-right."
Craig Charles: "What was your plan, if that wouldn't have happened, how do you think you would have beaten Bigger Brother? What were you going to do?"
Scott Lockhart: "We were going open our jaws, try and ram their flipper, to try and stop it working, but it didn't work."
Craig Charles: "I mean you came very far though, didn't you, you got all the way to the final. You disappointed."
Scott Lockhart: "Not that disappointed!"
— Post-battle interview

Results[]

LAMBSY - RESULTS
Series 5
The Fifth Wars - UK Championship
Heat Semi-Final
Heat B, Eliminator vs. Wowot Won
Heat B, Semi-Final vs. Bulldog Breed 3 Lost
Extreme Series 2
Minor Meltdown
Runner-Up
Round 1 vs. Bigger Brother, Saw Point Qualified
Round 2 vs. Killer Carrot 2 Won
Final vs. Bigger Brother Lost

Wins/Losses[]

  • Wins: 3
  • Losses: 2

Series Record[]

Main Series Lambsy Series Record
The First Wars Did not enter
The Second Wars Did not enter
The Third Wars Did not enter
The Fourth Wars Did not enter
The Fifth Wars Heat, Round 2
The Sixth Wars Failed to qualify
The Seventh Wars Entered with Ewe 2
Featherweight Championship with Cutlet
Series 8 Did not enter
Series 9 Did not enter
Series 10 Did not enter
Robot Wars Extreme Appearances
Series 1 Did not enter
Series 2 Minor Meltdown Final
Entered with Cutlet

Gallery[]

Outside Robot Wars[]

Lambsy Football

Lambsy as Golden Balls at Techno Games

Lambsy also competed at Techno Games 2003 as Golden Balls, in the Football competition. It partnered with Shed Slammer, but lost in the first round to Storm Chaser and Sprocket, 2-0.

Trivia[]

  • Lambsy was the first newcomer in Series 5 to defeat a veteran team in the first round.
  • All five of Lambsy's battles contained a robot with an alliterative name.
    • Lambsy ties with Ming for the greatest number of different alliterative robots battled.
  • Both robots that beat Lambsy fought each other in Series 4 and also fought Hypno-Disc in Series 5 and 6 and fought Kat 3 at some point (though Bigger Brother was partners with it in the Nickelodeon Robot Wars International Tag Team).
  • Rick was the only robot in the Extreme 2 Minor Meltdown not to fight Team Coyote.

References[]

External Links[]

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